Lisette Garcia, left, with Donovan, Paula and Angel. In the vast, sprawling metropolis of Mexico City there lives a little girl named Paula. She is 8 years old, and in many ways she is just like other 8-year-old children. She giggles a lot, she likes to play dress up, and she really, really wants an […]
In 2012, Keith and I took an amazing trip to Kenya and Tanzania. While we were there, we were lucky enough to be able to go on safari, and some of our best experiences came through Hostel Hoff, which provides a hostel in Moshi, Tanzania along with safaris that are much more economical than most, […]
My “Trading Places” stories usually have to do with me experiencing life in another place. Today, however, I would like to reverse that and share the Trading Places story of my friend Ponheary Ly, a Cambodian woman who is visiting the United States for the first time, and whom I got to spend time with […]
This Sunday, I set out for my seventh trip to India, each of which has included a week’s stay at a children’s home in the northeastern state of Odisha. In fact, volunteering at this home where more than 100 parentless children live is the reason I went to India in the first place, back in […]
I admit it: I’m a travel junkie. I’m also a junkie for humanitarian causes. So when I can combine the two, the world just feels like a better place to me. I recently ran across an interview that author Nancy Christie did with me, on the benefits of volunteering, for an upcoming book. I thought […]
If you haven’t read my story about CNN Hero Ponheary Ly, perhaps I should suggest that you start there. This amazing woman survived the brutal Khmer Rouge genocide in her home country of Cambodia – which killed her father – and went on to form a foundation that enables thousands of Cambodian children to go […]
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I'm Shelley, a journeyer and learner of the world, freelance journalist and author, yoga chick and dog lover. I pound the keyboard from home barefoot every day, and while my boss is demanding she also occasionally lets me have the early afternoon cocktail. I think not going into an office or collecting corporate paychecks are very good ideas, though not always profitable. I have written for National Geographic, USA Today, The Guardian, Texas Monthly and CNN, among others. Neither the New York Times nor Johnny Depp have answered my letters yet.
I love animals, yoga, indie movies, cooking, wine, books and chocolate, though not necessarily in that order. I believe in karma. Mean people suck. If I could have any dream job I would like to be a superhero. I have performed a catch on the flying trapeze, boarded down a live volcano, snorkeled with seals and was once robbed by a monkey in Nepal. But, I don't know how to whistle.
My mantra is "travel with a purpose."
See the world like a local!
A book I wrote with my partner Keith, that lays out how we travel as much as we do, for damn near free.
Trading Places 